Rea Takes Fourth In Opening Race of 2010 Season

Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) improved on his qualifying performance in each 22-lap Phillip Island race, leaving the opening round of the year in overall sixth place.

Jonathan Rea

Jonathan Rea

Jonathan had qualified seventh in the three-part Superpole after finding more difficulty in getting a set-up to make one fast lap than putting in a consistently fast race pace. In race one he was fourth, in race two sixth, but his second race of the day was by far the most challenging.

His fellow Honda riders battled hard but each suffered with their own issues at this fast and undulating 4.445km circuit. Max Neukirchner (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) went from 17th in qualifying to 12th in race one. Stand-in rider for Broc Parkes, Josh Brookes (ECHO CRS Honda CBR1000RR), scored points for 14th in race two, despite qualifying 20th on the grid at his home circuit. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Squadra Corse Italia Garvie Image CBR100RR) qualified 22nd but moved up to 16th and then 17th in the races.

In the first race Rea rode aggressively at the front of the second group of riders, finishing some ten seconds behind the winner, Leon Haslam (Suzuki). Rea had to ride with a combination of aggression and defensive strategy to stay ahead of the three riders following closely behind.

In race two, held in very slightly warmer conditions than race one, Rea made changes to his machine set-up, but after running on at turn four, he was 22nd and last, but carved his way back to sixth, once more coming out on top of a multiple rider fight. In a race won by Ducati privateer Carlos Checa, Josh Brookes went back to the settings he used in testing and pushed up to 14th, earning two points. Max Neukirchner was pushed wide and had to fight back to score 16th, and miss out on any points. Thanks to his race one score, he is 15th in the rankings, on four points.

With 23 points Rea is now sixth in the championship, tied on points with Sylvain Guintoli. Leon Haslam leads the championship on 45 points, following up his race one win with second place in race two.

Portugal is the host country for the second round of the championship, on Sunday 28th March, at the Portimao circuit near the Algarve coast.

WSB RIDER COMMENTS
Jonathan Rea, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda:
“All positive to be honest. It is easy to look at the results and get downhearted but we are not going to do that, because that is where our pace was all weekend, between four and seventh. We knew it was going to be difficult to get on the podium but that was the aim. Getting fourth in the first race was the best-case scenario. In the second race, after running off then seeing P22 on my pit board, I dug deep every lap and caught up to sixth. The bike felt better from race one to two as well. I had a few bad races last year, so if that was a bad weekend we’ll take it.”

Max Neukirchner, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: “We made some improvements from the first race to the second race, but the only problem was that I made a mistake in the third lap of race two, when fighting with Biaggi and ran off track, losing about 20 seconds. It was hard to try and come back from that. I am really not happy but we did find some good things and I improved how I work with the team.”

Josh Brookes, ECHO CRS Honda: “We went back to similar settings that we had at the tests, even though that meant we had some problems with chatter again. When we tried to get rid of those we lost the ability to keep a good line and turn the bike on the throttle. So we went back to what we had, I was able to race with some guys and took some points in race two.”

Vittorio Iannuzzo, Squadra Corse Italia:“We had some issues in the test last week and although we did not score any points like we planned, we finished both races as well as we could. I had a problem in race one with my electronics as well.”

Max Neukirchner

Eugene Laverty

Laverty Wins At Second Attempt

Race winner Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) had used practice and qualifying to work on his race set-up almost constantly and as such he had qualified fourth on the grid. But in real race conditions he was untouchable for sheer pace and he held a strong lead right to the end of the 21-lap race, beating Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki) and second fastest qualifier Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR).

The race was re-run over its entire 21-lap distance after the first attempt was eventually declared null and void after oil was spread on the track at the Hayshed and second corner, while Laverty was in the lead. Laverty repeated his quick starting trick again and controlled the pace from the front.

Both Sofuoglu and his fellow front row qualifier Michele Pirro (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) experienced tyre issues in the race, with Pirro pulling out in the end, after his tyre deflated.

Massimo Roccoli (Czech Intermoto Honda CBR600RR) was forced to use his second bike, with a partially used tyre, in the restart putting him sixth overall. He had been ninth on the grid.

Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) went from 11th on the grid to ninth in the race, despite not getting the best start in the re-run.

In his first ever Supersport World Championship race, reigning Superstock 600 European Champion for Honda Gino Rea (Czech Intermoto Honda CBR600RR) jumped up to tenth from 14th.

Laverty takes his five-point championship lead over Lascorz to his team’s home race in Portugal on March 28th.

WSS Rider Comments Eugene Laverty, Parkalgar Honda:
“We made improvements all over the course of the weekend, but yesterday what we were working towards was a race set-up for the second half of the race, making sure the bike looked after the tyres. I think that is why I only qualified fourth but I knew that we could do 1’35 laps consistently in the race. The laps the other guys put in during qualifying were incredible, and I couldn’t match them, but what was important was that I could do it for 21-laps.”

Kenan Sofuoglu, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda:
“I had some issues with the rear grip in the race and I had to manage that. I was trying to save it to the last lap but I had to slow down at the end. I am on the podium but I am very disappointed.”

Massimo Roccoli, Czech Intermoto Honda:
“We were unlucky in the race but we still got sixth place. I had to use my second bike but the rear tyre already had five laps on it. In the first eight or nine laps it was good but in the last few laps the grip dropped off. But top six first time out is OK.”

Michele Pirro, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda:
“We had a deflation of the tyre and I could not continue. I do not know why there was the problem, but it finished my race. Immediately there was not a good feeling in the restart so I could not do the pace I wanted. I had crashed on someone else’s oil in the first start as well.”

Miguel Praia Parkalgar Honda:
“The second start did not go well, and with all the oil dust on the first lap there were lots of different lines from the riders. I could not get away with the group I wanted to be in. I was hoping for a top seven but I got into the top ten at least.”

Gino Rea, Czech Intermoto Honda:
“I thought I had the pace to run with the group ahead, but I waited a bit because I wanted to conserve my tyre. Everyone was taking about tyre life all weekend because there are so many left-handers here. But I should have gone a bit earlier and tagged onto the group in front. Tenth place is not bad at the end of the day and we got some points for the team.”